Starlight Road
by 4thFromTheFurnace
Summary: It was a beautiful night to take the old red Runner for a drive, but it was such a waste of fuel to go alone. -YuseixAki-


**Part of my Christmas Gift Fic Bonanza! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, thus the reason this fanfiction exists.**

The markings on the ceiling weren't getting any more interesting. Once one found all the patterns and little pictures among all the markings, there wasn't much left that held any attention or made the time go by any faster. His azure eyes drifted out the window to stare at the stars that shone through the curtains. Stars never shown like that in Satellite. The night, it was calling him.

He slowly swung his legs over the bedside and sat up, pushing himself to his feet as his gaze held to the world beyond the windowpane. The twins' house was so nice, and he didn't remember ever sleeping in a bed that nice, but he couldn't keep himself from the deep midnight and the feeling of the wind coming to meet him.

Taking his jacket from the bedpost and slipping on his boots and gloves, he left the bedroom and began heading towards the stairs. The house was dark and silent, just as he expected it to be. Not even bothering to grip the railing, he softly descended the stairs, passing the kitchen as he headed towards the garage. Something caught the corner of his eye, causing him to stop in his tracks. He backed up a couple steps to peer into the dining room near the kitchen.

She was sitting at the table, her face illuminated by a single candle as she sipped casually at a mug of something hot, presumably tea. Her eyes hazily gazed off into the distance, staring at nothing in particular. The young woman clearly did not expect anyone else to be awake, judging from the large fluffy red robe and slippers that adorned her body.

His azure eyes held on her for a few seconds before he took a couple steps toward her, his low, calm voice emanating through the room, "Can't sleep?"

Jolted by his voice, she nearly jumped, her attention immediately diverted to him, "Y-Yusei!"

With a sigh of relief, she daintily rested her hand over her chest, "You scared me. Yeah, I had a bit of trouble going to sleep, so I thought-"

"I know. Me too."

A bit of silence ensued, though not awkward, both parties found themselves frozen in time as they exchanged an unspoken eye contact. She was the first to break eye-lock as her soft brown eyes found the wood of the table, "Are you going out?"

Yusei nodded, initiating an almost unnoticeable frown from his companion. With that, Yusei turned and continued toward the outside, where his Duel Runner waited for him. However, while traversing the stairs, he stopped. Why was she up in the first place?

He then continued down the stairs to the place that held his dueling vehicle. The night was calling him. As he approached the red machine, he outstretched his hand to feel the cold, smooth metal under his glove. While he ran his hand over the metallic surface, a sudden thought struck his mind, causing him to stop. For one moment, all remnants of the tempting night sky disappeared and one image remained.

It was the image of her, sitting there all by herself in the middle of the night, with only a candle and a mug of hot tea to keep her company. She had already been alone for so long, and now that Divine was gone, she was vulnerable and frail, more-so than usual.

Swiftly yet calmly, Yusei turned around, away from his Duel Runner.

---

The flicker of the flame had become the source of entertainment. The house had been so quiet, she could hear the lick of fire spark and crackle occasionally while she watched, her eyes taking in the array of colors that the tangible heat contained. There was only approximately two sips of cinnamon tea left in her mug and her mind only became more burdened now that she was losing everything that kept her mind off of it.

All of a sudden, the opening of the door sent a jolt up her spine, her entire body as tense as a brick-board. Her chocolate eyes widened as she watched the dark-haired male re-enter the room. Before she could inquire as to why he was back, he came towards her, settling himself in a kitchen chair across from her, "Aki."

"Y-Yusei?" she stumbled.

After another second of silence, he rose from the chair, his gloved hand enveloping her pale fingers, "Come."

The young duelist sputtered for words, trying to understand his meaning, "You mean, come with you? Yusei, I'm in my pajamas!"

He let go of her hands and answered, his voice unfaltering, "Then go change."

Completely aghast and discombobulated, Aki stood and rushed to the room she stayed in, her slippers almost falling off on the way up the stairs. Yusei simply made himself comfortable on the chair she had been sitting in and patiently waited for her to return.

He knew it was spontaneous, and though it wasn't unlike him, he couldn't have a clear conscience or be at peace during his ride if he knew she was here like this. Or so he told himself. He would come up with a better excuse eventually.

The red-haired female returned, almost on cue, wearing a long sweater and a pair of sweatpants and comfortable shoes. Even with a bed-head, she looked so soft and delicate. Yusei tried his best to peel his eyes off of her.

"Um, Yusei?" her somewhat meek voice broke his absent thought process. He stood, giving a nod towards the door, "Let's go."

"Wait-"

He rotated his neck to glance backwards at her. She tilted her head, "Why?"

Yusei extended his gloved hand to the young woman, his lips quirking into a slight but genuine smile, "Because it's a waste of fuel to go alone."

Aki froze, her eyes wide as she shakily took his hand. He could almost see the blood rushing to her face.

After descending to the garage, Aki stood in the entryway, a slight frown on her face, "I don't know, Yusei. This is a one-person Duel Runner."

The turbo duelist rested his blue eyes on her, placing a red helmet into her hands. Her frown deepened as her eyebrows knit together, "This is dangerous. You're not going to get me on that thing."

Yusei's lips curled into an almost satisfied smirk. The real Aki was starting to shine through. Her companion quickly grasped her wrist and led her over to the red hunk of metal. As he secured himself onto the Runner and placed his own helmet over his black and blond mop, she crossed her arms, putting her foot down forcefully, "Now see here, Yusei Fudou, if I get on that DEATH Wheel..."

The man just scooted forward and patted the space behind him. Aki got on hesitantly, "I'm going to fall off and die, I know it."

In response, he started the engine, lifting his visor one last time, his voice classically lacking emotion, "Not if you hold on tight."

He revved the engine, causing the girl to nearly jump and cling to Yusei's back. He then pressed the gas lightly and drove off into the open night. The further he drove down the empty road, he felt Aki's head resting against his back. She must have been tired. There was no telling how long she had stayed up or how much sleep she had gotten days before that.

The machine sped down the road, away from the Tops. The streetlights blocked out the moon and the light from the stars. From the heights of Rua and Ruka's house, the streetlights and city lights didn't obstruct the glimmer of the moon and stars. Now he had to get away. He was used to the cluttered mustiness of the city, but he needed air. As he continued to drive away from all human civilization, he was a bit surprise. He didn't hear or feel Aki protest, the only thing acknowledging that she was still awake being the occasional movement of her hands on his waist.

The wheels kicked up dust as the pavement turned to gravel. Yusei felt Aki tense against his body, and though he knew she was skittish, it almost relaxed him to have her there. Despite her grip almost squeezing him to death, he felt oddly at peace, especially with how stressed he had been lately.

The moon shone brightly, bathing the landscape with a cold blue hue. The stars caught Aki's eye, taking her attention off thoughts of her impending death for a moment. It was so beautiful. Everything seemed to sparkle as if coated with crystals. The moonlight reflected off Yusei's Runner, bouncing a bright shine into her eyes. She squinted and lifted her head from her companion's shoulder for a moment, scanning her glassy orbs over the bright lights above her. She rarely saw the sky. Especially like this.

After so long of being cooped up in the Arcadia building, much of her thoughts rested on the troubles of her powers rather than what was just outside the window. Yusei had opened her up to it. She felt she could see now. She could see herself for who she truly was and she was beginning to see herself through the eyes of those that truly care about her.

The redhead unconsciously laid her head on Yusei's navy blue jacket again. He was so warm, like being around him calmed her down. Closing her eyes, she buried her nose in the navy-colored fabric and inhaled his scent. He smelt of a mix of mechanical grease and gasoline; not exactly the most lovely of scents but somehow still reassuring in its own way. She lifted her chin to stare at the back of his helmet. For some reason, she longed to smell his hair. Aki felt that somehow, maybe it would take her mind off of everything.

Shadows above her caused her to look up, realizing the sudden presence of tree cover, blocking the rays of moonlight from view. As the dirt road curved left, she realized they were heading into a forest. Yusei visibly decelerated to a safer speed in the dark. Aki subconsciously wondered where he was taking her and even why he wanted her to come with him in the first place. Eventually, she heard the roar of the engine as the Tail Signer accelerated, pushing the Duel Runner faster and faster. Aki clutched to him, clenching her hands into fists while she scrunched her eyelids tightly together.

After that, he slowed down exponentially as the red machine came to a stop. Yusei switched off the ignition and lifted his visor again, "Aki, you can open your eyes now."

Almost mechanically, Aki's hands released the young man from her grasp as her eyes opened. Her head swiveled smoothly, checking in all directions to see where she was. Before her was a small lake, surrounded by trees and reflecting the moon and stars' reflections perfectly. The water lapped gently at the shore, and a few fireflies danced around the plant life.

Her companion lifted the helmet from his head and stood from his seat, setting the helmet in his stead, "I found this place shortly after the..." he hesitated, fully knowing her sensitivity to the subject, "other two Dark Signers showed up."

Aki pulled the helmet from her head, "It's beautiful."

Yusei's sapphire eyes glanced down on her for more than a few seconds before returning his gaze to the landscape before him, "It wasn't, until now."

"What?" her face whipped around to face him. He just subtly shook his head, "Nevermind."

Her pupils fell to observe the ground before dismounting the motor vehicle and walking towards the water. Yusei fell in behind her, as quiet as the wind. When she reached the shore, her heart absorbed everything from the reflecting ripples in the water to the flickering of the lightning bugs amongst the trees. She took a mental snapshot as her mind wandered off the past for just a moment.

Yusei stared at her out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention to the scenery once again. An almost unnoticeable sigh escaped his lips as his eyelids closed, "Aki."

His utterance of her name acted as an acknowledgement and a request for her thoughts, as if he knew that she was in pain the whole time and used one mention of her name to bring up the subject. His manner was gentle, but sincere in a way that was intimidating and impossible to ignore or conceal. He was always like that.

She shouldn't have been surprised by his expression, Yusei was always able to read her like a book. However, for some reason she was still surprised, and clamped her mouth in silence, her thoughts rushing back to her past, her parents, memories of the Arcadia Movement and Divine. Yet, here was Yusei, standing beside her, watching the lake just as he had watched the sunset with her before. Then it occurred to her. He had taken her out with him to get her mind off those things and try to cheer her up in the only way that the Satellite youth knew how.

The Claw Signer bit her lip, clenching her fists in an effort to keep herself from becoming emotional, "Everything I knew, my world, was completely shattered, like I was exposed to the truth that exposed my life as a lie. I feel...cold and weak, like a blank slate that has no protection. As if I have to start life over again."

"Aki..." his voice echoed in her ear as she felt Yusei's hand on her elbow. The girl twisted to see him face to face. As she did, Yusei's hand lightly crawled up to her shoulder. He didn't continue his words for a long time, just stared in her eyes with an unreadable expression, as usual. The more she watched his eyes, the more she saw the stars and the moon and the lake all reflecting in the pool of his irises, boring through her soul. She pursed her lips and swallowed, but under his gaze it didn't take long for her the tears to overflow the dungeon of her eyelids. She sobbed and Yusei tugged her forward in a comforting embrace. He lowered his head until his lips were next to her ear, "I know you're scared." he whispered.

This initiated another few sobs from the young woman in his arms, but the dark-haired man didn't mind.

He just let her cry.

He didn't try to cheer her up, he didn't try to get her to stop, and he didn't even try to comfort her all that much. He just let her cry. And she seemed content in a way to just stand there and bawl into his shirt. His arms were wrapped around her protectively, but his eyes just traveled into the distant sky, waiting for her to get it out of her system.

When her sobs finally reduced to sniffles, his low voice reverberated through the clearing once again, "It may not seem like it, but a new life is exactly where you want to be, and it's the biggest blessing you have right now. You've been offered your freedom, Wild Rose."

She lifted her face to meet his eyes, her visage nearly taking him by surprise. This time, the moonlight chose to illuminate her own eyes, and Yusei felt his stomach tighten. A soft smile then grazed upon his face, "You haven't had enough sleep. Stop worrying."

The sight of his smile sent shivers up her spine and caused her to automatically smile back, feeling warm fuzzies bubble up inside her. Someone had given her the choice of freedom, and now that she saw it fully as the moon above, she wouldn't miss it. She had never thought to look up to find the stars shining through. Aki Izayoi had always depended on the things of her past to dictate her future. She never noticed the stars, including the one that was smirking in front of her. Now she knew why the night called to him. Aki let out a light chuckle, "You're right. It is a waste of fuel to go alone."

The smile on his visage slowly disappeared, however, when his face gravitated toward her own. Her eyes scanned his features a few times before closing, her lips parting in anticipation. One of his hands lifted to her face as he closed his eyes and joined her. Thus was the moment that freedom began. And as if by cue or command, the stars flickered a few times, all at once.

**I'm a bit unsure about the ending of this one, and I'm hoping it turned out the way I wanted it to. Give me some words via the little button at the bottom of the screen if you'd like. Merry Christmas everyone! God bless and I'm prayin' for ya!**


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